Top 5 At-Home Assessment Content of 2022

The top 5 most-viewed content on at-home assessments in 2022 discussed unaddressed needs in home health, the possibility of advancement in intensive care management, and the role of technology improving home health care.

Here is the most viewed at-home assessment content of 2022.

5. Dr Melissa O’Connor Discusses Impact of SDOH on Older Adults, Home Health Outcomes

Social determinants of health (SDOH), like unstable housing, food insecurity, and transportation difficulty, continue to impact health outcomes for older adults, said Melissa O'Connor, PhD, MBA, RN, FGSA, FAAN, endowed professor in community and home health nursing, M. Louise Fitzpatrick School of Nursing, Villanova University, and director, Gerontology Interest Group in a video published in October. She highlights how physical and mental health outcomes are greatly influenced by aspects like homelessness and the inability to stick to certain diets like low-sugar and low-sodium diets due to food insecurity.

View the video here.

4. Serving Nontraditional Health Care Needs in Medicare Through VBID

During a panel at the 2022 V-BID Summit in March, experts discussed how the expansion of value-based insurance design (VBID) into Medicare has fueled creativity in how to support beneficiaries. Joy Cameron, associate vice president of public policy at Humana, talked about how supplemental benefits can act as a preventive measure to potential crises, and that the offering of supplemental benefits better serves Humana’s members.

Other topics that were touched upon included demographic information on individuals served by Medicare Advantage, added obstacles faced by members such as social isolation, and how VBID has the ability to distribute supplemental benefits to those who need them most.

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3. Dr Melissa O'Connor on Policy Reform to Address Unmet Needs in Home Health

In another interview, O'Connor discussed the necessity of evaluating caregiver needs and abilities when improving the care of older adults, especially in the face of a growing aging population. She also talks about how maintaining connection with home health care, even on a weekly or monthly basis, can reduce costs by preventing rehospitalization upon a premature termination of home health care, and more.

View the video here.

2. Intensive Care Management of a Complex Medicaid Population: A Randomized Evaluation

A study published in September in The American Journal of Managed Care^® found that an intensive care management program with a focus on high-risk Medicaid patients might lead to positive influences on expenditure and utilization, and that academic medical centers have the ability to efficiently partner with nonprofit community-based primary care facilities. Researchers also discovered that factors of care management that are personalized to meet the needs of patients with the most impactable utilization are crucial features of a program for intensive care management, with more research needed in diverse settings to confirm these findings.

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1. Contributor: Charting a New Path to At-Home Medication Adherence With Digital Pharmacy Support

Nonadherence to medications and polypharmacy affect older adults, according to a contributor article published in July. According to author Jason Z. Rose, MHSA, the challenges of adhering to prescribed medication and the likelihood that older adults will be taking multiple medications (up to 40% take 5 or more prescriptions and almost 20% take 10 or more) can be helped by implementing health technology at home. He discussed how this approach can reduce costs and increase positive health outcomes for patients.

Read the full article.